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Wednesday, August 23rd. The Sun rises at 6:54. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 39 minutes, setting at 8:34. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 9:48 this evening.

Let’s take our weekly look at the bright planets. Jupiter is sinking really low in the west-southwest as it gets dark in the evening. The bright blue-white star Spica, which pales in comparison to Jupiter, is seen left of it. Jupiter is moving eastward towards Spica now. It will pass north of Spica on September 11th. Jupiter will set at 10:25 p.m. Saturn can now be seen in the south-southwest as evening twilight fades. The reddish star Antares is off to the right of Saturn. Saturn’s rings are spectacular in telescopes, and it will set at 1:24 a.m. In the morning sky, brilliant Venus will rise at 4:01 a.m. and be visible until about 6:15 tomorrow morning. Mars and Mercury are now too close to the Sun for us to spot.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.